Republicans, White House want answers from Pentagon about Austin's hospitalization

Congressional Republicans are calling on top Defense Department officials to provide answers about who knew what and when about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's secret hospitalization for complications resulting from a prostate cancer treatment. This comes as the White House makes clear that despite making an «overt and genuine» effort to learn more about Austin's condition, President Joe Biden did not find out about his cancer diagnosis until Tuesday.

«We are deeply troubled by the apparent breakdown in communications between your office and the rest of the Department of Defense, the White House, and Congress over the past two weeks,» Sen. Roger Wicker, the ranking Republican in the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Austin sent Wednesday.

«Further, the apparent failure to even notify your lawful successor in this case is a massive failure of judgment and negligence,» Wicker wrote in a letter signed by all the Republicans on the committee.

«It is an intolerable breach of trust with the American people at a dangerous moment for U.S. national security,» wrote Wicker.

Wicker labeled Austin's initial public statement last week as «wholly insufficient.» Wicker requested that Pentagon officials who were involved in the notification process respond to his committee by Jan. 19 and answer questions related to the timing and notifications of Austin's hospitalization and who made the decisions not to notify the White House and other senior Pentagon leaders.

The White House and President Joe Biden did not learn until Tuesday that Austin had prostate cancer and that complications from a surgical procedure to treat it had resulted in his ongoing hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, National